This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/26/man-shot-dead-in-south-belfast-upper-ormeau-road

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Man shot dead in south Belfast Man shot dead in south Belfast
(about 7 hours later)
A man has been shot dead in south Belfast, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed.A man has been shot dead in south Belfast, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed.
Police said four men burst into a family home at Walmer Street, in the Upper Ormeau Road area, at about 10:45pm on Thursday and singled out their victim. Police said four men burst into a family home in Walmer Street, in the Upper Ormeau Road area, at about 10:45pm on Thursday and singled out their victim.
The 28-year-old man, originally from West Belfast and named locally as Stephen Carson, was shot several times and died in hospital. Stephen Carson, 28and originally from West Belfast, was shot several times and died in hospital.
A PSNI spokesperson said the man’s partner and their nine-year-old child were in the house at the time of the shooting. A huge police operation was put into place at the murder scene, with parts of Walmer Street sealed off while officers in forensic suits searched the area. The street was traditionally Protestant but is now religiously mixed and multicultural. A PSNI spokesperson said the man’s partner and their nine-year-old son were in the house at the time of the shooting.
The gunmen chased Carson through the house and when he tried to hide in a bathroom they fired shotgun blasts through the door, the PSNI said.
Det Supt Kevin Geddes said the child and his mother had been deeply traumatised by what they saw and heard. “It’s absolutely terrifying, his nine-year-old son had to listen to his dad being killed,” the PSNI officer said.
Geddes said their “main line of inquiry” was that Carson was “shot as part of a criminal feud”.
He said the PSNI did not believe the motive was sectarian or that there was any paramilitary involvement.
Appealing for information to help the PSNI catch the killers, the senior PSNI Serious Crime Branch officer added: “This was a cold-blooded and brutal murder. These are convenient labels to describe what happened last night. They are an honest opinion about the horrific events which took place in 77 Walmer Street. It is vital that Stephen Carson’s killers are caught and brought before the courts.”
A huge police operation was put into place at the murder scene, with parts of Walmer Street sealed off while officers in crime scene suits searched the area. The street was traditionally Protestant but is now religiously mixed and multicultural.
Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, condemned those responsible for the murder and said it was “terrible news”.Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, condemned those responsible for the murder and said it was “terrible news”.
South Belfast Democratic Unionist councillor Christopher Stalford said it was “unbelievable that in this day and age we should be hearing stories like. I urge anyone who knows the identity of the assailants to come forward and to share that information with the police.” South Belfast Democratic Unionist councillor Christopher Stalford said it was “unbelievable that in this day and age we should be hearing stories like this. I urge anyone who knows the identity of the assailants to come forward and to share that information with the police.”